Definition
In general, the super-Earths are defined as exclusively by their mass, and the term does not imply temperatures, compositions, orbital properties, adaptability, or environments similar to that of Earth. A variety of specific mass values are cited in definitions of super-Earths. While sources generally agree on an upper bound of 10 Earth masses, (~69% of the mass of Uranus, which is the Solar System gas giant with the least mass), the lower bound varies from 1 or 1.9 to 5, with various other definitions appearing in the popular media. Some authors further suggest that the term be limited to planets without a significant atmosphere, or planets that have not just atmospheres but also solid surfaces or oceans with a sharp boundary between liquid and atmosphere, which the four giant planets in our solar system do not have. Planets above 10 Earth masses are termed giant planets. By informal convention, giant planets may be subdivided into "super-Jupiters" (more than 2-3 Jupiter masses up to brown dwarf mass), "Jupiters" (like Jupiter and Saturn, greater than 30 Earth masses), and "Neptunes" (of a mass similar to Uranus and Neptune, of 10-30 Earth masses).
Read more about this topic: Super-Earths
Famous quotes containing the word definition:
“It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.””
—Jane Adams (20th century)
“The physicians say, they are not materialists; but they are:MSpirit is matter reduced to an extreme thinness: O so thin!—But the definition of spiritual should be, that which is its own evidence. What notions do they attach to love! what to religion! One would not willingly pronounce these words in their hearing, and give them the occasion to profane them.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It is very hard to give a just definition of love. The most we can say of it is this: that in the soul, it is a desire to rule; in the spirit, it is a sympathy; and in the body, it is but a hidden and subtle desire to possess—after many mysteries—what one loves.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)